Drax #1 - 2015

Drax #1
CM Punk & Cullen Bunn (w)
Scott Hepburn (a)

Bare with me, I’ve got to shake some rust off these fingers…

I’d love to say that the reason that I’m reviewing Drax #1 is for some huge fondness for the character or that I just HAVE to read everything Cullen Bunn writes and / or Scott Hepburn draws, but let’s face it… the former WWE wrestler CM Punk is co-writer to this book and that’s the hook.  

One of my tenets of comic book reviews is for them not to take longer to read then it does to actually read the comic book.  1) It’s just a comic book review, 2) You really just want to know if the individual comic is worth the price of admission and 3) If the reviewer has so much to pontificate on any one issue, it probably means he or she wishes they could have written the comic book themselves.  

So let’s get the meat-n-potatoes out of the way… Is Drax #1 worth your $3.99?  

YES.

The art is very good.  I’m not familiar with Hepburn’s work but he has a good action style and is very sound with his hands and facial expressions (two easy tells if an artist is good or not).  Granted, there’re a lot of “fists” going on because this is a Drax book and the man was reborn to kill and fight but having said that, he draws a mean looking fist.  Drax and his fellow Guardians are fluid and express a nice emotional range.  He definitely has an attractive style, which now that I’ve gotten a taste, I’ll be interested to see what’s next.

Bunn’s writing in other books (most recently on Magneto, Sinestro and Lobo) has been surprisingly enjoyable.  It’s rare to have someone be able to write villains so prolifically and not use the same tropes.  This give me hope that Punk is getting the right tutelage.  

But you’re here for the main event.  How’s CM Punk’s writing?  I suppose its good.  His last offering was short but solid.  Punk recently wrote a short story in the latest Thor Annual.  Like Drax, it was a story about fighting.  As the old saying goes, write what you know.  He’s doing that and is being helped by a good team.  Since Drax is an ongoing series, we’ll be able to get a truer sense of his storytelling over the next few months.  The banter between the Guardians was decent but could use some work.

The book looks good and it is a “#1 issue” by a celebrity writer.  Buy it, try it and I’ll be back after six or more issues to evaluate a full arc.  So far, a good start.  

WK
@wkbear